5 DIE IN RANCHI HOSPITAL AS O2 SUPPLY DISRUPTED

RANCHI: At least five critically ill Covid-19 patients admitted to Ranchi’s Sadar Hospital died allegedly after a snag developed in manifold room, leading to disruption in oxygen supply in the wee hours of Thursday. However, hospital authorities on Friday said the deaths occurred due to critical illness.

Health minister Banna Gupta on Friday ordered a probe into the matter. “This is a grave issue. I discussed it with chief minister Hemant Soren. The health department’s principal secretary has been asked to conduct a detailed probe into the matter. Some technical snag could have developed in the system but it is important to find out if it was due to deliberate lapses on the part of staff on duty or someone else,” Gupta said.

According to information, the snag occurred around 4.45 am due to leakage in MOX regulator in the manifold room. This led to a sudden disruption in the smooth supply of oxygen, as its flow dropped from 50 to 12 level.

It was alleged that soon after this, two critically ill patients, who were on ventilator support and high flow nasal cannula, died.